1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to apparatus for varying the tension on a guitar string to vary the pitch thereof as the guitar is played, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to such apparatus which can be readily attached and detached from a guitar without damaging the guitar.
2. Description Of of the Art
There are two general types of devices utilized with stringed instruments such as guitars for varying the tension on the strings as they are played. One such device generally known as a tremolo includes a spring-loaded arm which when depressed lowers the pitch of all six strings of the guitar. Another such device known as a string bender functions to either raise or lower the pitch on less than all of the strings, and typically on only one selected string.
On drawback with such devices is that they typically must be mounted as a permanent part of the guitar. For example, one well known string bender construction is that known as the Parsons-White string bender which is described at page 181 of The Guitar Handbook, by Denyer, and published by Alfred A. Knopf, 1982. The Parsons-White string bender includes a system of levers and springs mounted within a cavity which must be carved out of the guitar body. The levers are attached to the guitar strap. When the player pulls down on the guitar itself, the strap tightens the linkage which acts upon the guitar strings. This is a very permanent part of the guitar since it removes about twenty-five percent of the wood in the guitar body.
Another string bender device, commonly referred to as the Bigsby Palm Pedal, and generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,479,917 to Zitnik, Jr., et al., includes a horseshoe-shaped frame which screws down to the top of the guitar and supports one or more pivoted arms. Each arm can control an individual guitar string.
One prior art string bender device which is constructed to be mounted on the guitar without damaging the guitar is that commonly known as the Borisoff "Hip Shot" and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,670 to Borisoff. This device is held onto the guitar by the strap button screw at the butt of the instrument. The player moves his hip against a lever, which through a linkage, pulls the selected guitar string. A second lever is provided which can be manually engaged to change the pitch on a second selected guitar string.
There is a need for a simple, inexpensive yet effective string bender device which can be mounted on the guitar without permanently defacing or damaging the guitar. Just such a structure is provided by my present invention which is described below.